WHY DO WE WORK SO HARD TO ENFORCE DRUG LAWS?

Drugs drain our communities of life and deprive our citizens of the opportunities, prosperity, and safety they deserve. Confronting this problem requires a strong comprehensive approach, including enforcement, interdiction, prevention, treatment and international efforts.

We do our part of the equation, enforcement and interdiction, as part of a larger program to make our community a place you want to live. How can you succeed in life, if you restrain yourself with drug use? You cannot expect to contend for reliable employment, if while under the influence of drugs, you attempt to compete with one who does not defeat himself in such a way. How can you expect to be successful if you devote your time, energy and money to the obtaining and use of a substance?

Drug use is a deviant counter culture, in which people expect to alter themselves without consequence. They expect to use a substance to alter their mental state, motor skills, mood and behavior, without experiencing any changes or negative effects. More surprising, is the belief that should they suffer any ill effect, that such effect is limited to themselves, and that family, friends, loved ones and society are somehow insulated and immune. This simply is not true. The reality is, lives have been lost and families have been destroyed in Soda Springs because of drug use.

So why would anyone use drugs? Drugs make you feel good, and anyone who says otherwise is lying, but it is a facade. Drugs introduced into your body mimic or trigger the release of chemicals like dopamine and serotonin, which are received by the pleasure center in your brain. You are essentially "jimmy rigging" happiness. As you continue using this shortcut, you lose the ability, both by habit and chemical defectiveness, to access these feelings without using drugs. You are no longer capable of achieving, experiencing, and coping with emotions without the assistance of drugs. Feelings of intense pleasure fade, and are replaced with magnified feelings of depression. Remember, the people experiencing these effects are not victims, but willing participants, who did this to themselves voluntarily, albeit unknowingly. Unfortunately, this does not repair the damage done.

History has shown emotions to be powerful motivators, and that we can, at times, behave irrationally and illogically in our efforts to satisfy them. This phenomenon is exaggerated, and the frequency increased in those who use drugs. In an ironic effort to shirk their self made prison of despair, one uses drugs again, in increased doses, thus perpetuating the cycle. One soon finds themselves wallowing in a pitiful existence, and a trivial pursuit of the temporary comfort of counterfeit contentment.

Drug use is inseparably connected with other criminal behavior. Without the desire to maintain oneself without drugs, you devote your life to the pursuit of intoxication. After depleting all personal resources to obtain drugs, one must find other methods of procuring them. Theft, burglary, and other property crimes are the most common for users. Sadly, theft is easiest from family members and friends, as they are forgiving victims, in their efforts to help. Eventually, their forgiveness gives way to anger, and their anger gives way to apathy.

Drugs are a dirty business. Violence is used by dealers to enforce their policy and payments, and establish and maintain market shares. Users sometimes use violence to obtain or keep their drugs, and while under the influence of drugs. Soda Springs is no exception to this rule. Drug dealers in Soda Springs victimize individuals in all stages of drug use. Selfishness motivates their desire to supply poison for money, and they don't care where the money comes from, or what it takes to keep the money coming in.

As long as drugs have place in Soda Springs, we will not thrive. We work diligently to combat those who wish to destroy our community in such a manner. Enforcement efforts, coupled with the efforts of counselors, medical professionals and other treatment efforts tasked with repairing the destruction drugs leave in their wake, are all part of a unified effort to protect our community from the devastating effects of drugs. As I stated earlier, drugs drain our communities of life, and deprive our citizens of the opportunities, prosperity, and safety they deserve. This is why we work so hard to enforce drug laws.